Wednesday, 27 January 2010

So here is is - Not sure if it has finished as I think its missing something just not sure what yet any suggestions? I had begun this journal cover in a really random fashion with the paints and book text etc. Slapped a few of my TH background stamps and sat back and wondered where the hell it was going to be honest! Then when I saw Hels challenge this week was squares it was the answer to the whole thing. This is a perfect representation of my life. At work and other out of home activities I am organised and always ahead (to the point my work load is practically non existent at work because I stay so focused and I am now picking up others work to stay busy!). However at home utter chaos rules - nothing is organised - and i do mean nothing! I am easily distracted especially by the computer or crafting - never ever am I distracted to sort the house. So the madness and chaos I did behind the orderly facade of the squares seems perfect! Hmmmm do I feel better for this full and frank confession about my double life ? - I think some journal pages may be in order to work that one out LOL. Here is what I used anyway

Basic grey papers - heavily doctored with red pepper adirondack inkClaudine Helmuth paint - yellow, red and blueGessoA ripped page from old encyclopedia for childrensome PVA (yes I know it should have been gel medium but I haven't got any!)Tim Holtz stampsand the Journal stamp is from the stampman.

I'm entering this into Hels challenge this week and if you have any finishing off suggestions I would love to hear them :0)

Right off to the chaos that is my life until 2pm when order and organisation will commence (I go to work LOL)

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Hi Folks - I loved what you did with our challenge last week - Leftovers was much more popular than I thought it would be! I do hope you will rise to the challenge again because this week we have another real challenge for you - JIGSAWS.Now I always think that jigsaws are fabulous for scrapbooking - on large LO or on min books to represent pieces of your life - or a snapshot of it. With this in mind but also that I am thinking art journals I have come up with this.

You may recognise this as Pink! I love her music which most people are very surprised at hearing. This piece will find a home in an art journal at some point im sure.Ive collaged book text then the Pink image onto the jigsaw piece. Ive then added wording around the piece with words i associate with Pink and also that I admire. Ive added a crown because I think she deserves it and the grungeboard wings to represent how her music makes me feel - free and uninhibited.

Here is a close up. I was at first going to add it to a tag then to the front of the journal but didnt like them all together mainly because the colour is all wrong but this will be inside on one of the pages.

Hop on over to see my teamies work at Tuesday Taggers They have excelled themselves this week by producing yet more fantastic art which did not come easily. Thanks Girls for working so hard your pieces are amazing! Im looking forward to visiting more art this week with your entries!

Monday, 25 January 2010

Followed the sketch at Truly Scrumptious for this card for a colleague who finishes on Friday. A fabulous Mo Manning image "Bye Bye". Papers are by sandylion. Image coloured with promarkers. Ive used some studio G letter stamps for the wording and the one of a kind is from the papers. I couldnt add the flowers in the corner as it over powered the picture so have added 2 brads. Hope you like it xJanet

Wow! Logged on last night to find I had won a prize on The Sunday Stamper challenge at Hels blog. Some fabulous Lucie Mabel Attwell stamps and cling on from The Artistic Stamper . I had entered the wall hanging I made for my brother for his birthday (which he loved). It was the first time i had entered this challenge so I am absolutely thrilled - Thanks so much Hels and Jennie (artistic stamper).

This weeks challenge is squares - so that art journal may have one or two on it before the day is out LOLHave a fab day x J x

Sunday, 24 January 2010

I really have begun decorating the front and back of my art journal. Ive got as far as adding the page text, gesso and claudine helmuth paints

Just lacking inspiration of what to do next. If I havent come up with anything soon I think I will more or less follow Kates tutorial in craft stamper. Ive found some Basic grey papers in just the right colours.

Hes arrived! The gorgeous baby Logan! my Cousin gave birth last sunday to a bouncing baby boy. So here is his welcome to the world card.

Images from kanban outlet including the word strips. Little teddy charm from my pal Midnight crafter. Punches by woodware and ribbon from stash.

My cousin is a keen horsewoman and intends for Logan to ride early too ! so here are some thank you notelets Ive made as a gift. Only 9x9cm so not much space to fill - the horse paper is from K&Co and has been in my stash forever waiting for the right project and here it is!

This card is for the daughter of a very dear friend. Her baby was born on sat morning after half hour of labour! What a shock to be suddenly there!

Again images are Kanban as is the glitter card on the 2nd one. Paper on first one from papermania, ribbon from stash, words from pink petticoat. Punches woodware and stampin up and Martha Stuart. Congratulations stamp from papermania stamped with adirondack ink.This one is for my dear friend. This pregnancy has not been easy for her as she had 2 baby boys stillborn. Knowing that her daughter was going to have a boy meant she feared for her all the way through - you know that awful dread when you think your child is going to have something awful happen and there is nothing at all you can do except wait! Well thankfully all is well. Mum and Baby fine so deep Joy for them all.

and finally Ive just heard that someone I know in canada has also given birth this time to a baby girl so i can make a pink one next!

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Are my family! It was also my Mums birthday this week and also the birth of the newest family member Logan. His card I will show you later but here is what I made for my Mum.Its a little mini book/ card inside the most gorgeous pink suitcase which you can buy at The Stampman

I have made some little tags and added the ticket stamped images to them (told you I loved them!) I also added a tag to the suitcase with to someone special on. Ive made it so everything is removeable if she wants to re-use it - shes a crafter too and we love to re-cycle!

Here is the mini book/card out of the case.

And now the pages. This is a mixture of Penny black and stampin up stamps. Sunset orange adirondack ink and pink carnation archival ink. The pages are a little over atc size so its not huge just right :0)

More stampin up stamps and the gorgeous doily lace punch from Martha Stuart.

More stampin up stamps - not sure about the "dream big" one though. Again a mixture of adirondack and archival inks. Ribon, brads and buckle from stash.

Cant rember the make of either of these stamps - i know I bought dream play one from ebay and the other from the Stampman. Same mix of inks ribbon and flower/bard from papermainia goody bag

Paper by Die cuts with a view, flower punch by woodware - embroidered rose from Bits and bats - again not sure of stamp make but its one I use a lot!

So there it is! Happy birthday Mum!

Lots of new babies this week so my next post will be full of baby boy cards!

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

A combination of the two pressie left overs - Nothing too fancy as I was all out of ideas after the presents LOL - Inch and a half squares inked and faux stitched mounted on black. The pressie was made in the melt pot or rather melted utee poured onto the craft mat and the present stamp sunk into it. Im sure you will see more of this stuff before too much longer .

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

This weeks topic was set by the fabulous Blackdragon and she has challenged us to use up Christmas leftovers in a non Christmassy way. I have used a box left over from a pressie my OH got of port and chocs.

A good sturdy box! So I decided to make another gift for my brother of a 3d picture box.

This was inspired by a class I did at Art From the Heart last May - I ran with the idea changing bits slightly to suit what I was doing. In the class we used a wooden box frame whereas this is all cardboard. Firstly I cut a piece of card to fit inside the box - laid the photo at an angle then added small squares of 7 gypsies papers (1 1/2 inch square) around the photo. Once I had decided I was happy with them I inked the edges with adirondack watermelon and put faux stitches around them. I then stuck them all together. I then used a Lil Davies stitching template to prick holes for the stitching around the photo then stitched them by hand with black DMC thread. I have then stuck this into the box.

I used my ticket stamps again on inked card - again the watermelon ink - and added them to the left corner with some black buttons.

I made the flowers following a tutorial my pal midnight-crafter had given at a past workshop and also some gorgeous rose leaves she has cut out on the Craft Robo. Again they have been coloured with adirondack inks salmon and watermelon. I have added some clear stickles to some of the petals. I lined the inside "walls" with black card then used silicone glue to adhere the roses along the bottom.

The front of the box has been created using a piece of mountboard which I cut an aperture from then covered in co-ordinated seven gypsies paper. To fasten this to the box i made 8 little mountboard hinges hence the lovely flocked brads on the front of the frame - brads and alphabet from Doodlebug. The words in the corners were part of a prize from Tag you're it! from last year.

When I took these pics the back of the project was pretty awful but I have managed to pretty it up by adding some card and ribbon - although of course the back wont be looked at.

Im hoping he likes it - the photo is one of his favourites - I chose the colour sceme from his wife and daughters dresses. Scrapbooking was always my first love in papercrafting so its been great to do this project if somewhat challenging!

You can buy 7 Gypsies products at Art from the Heart - which the lovely Emmi lovingly wraps for internet orders - you honestly forget you have paid for them it looks so like a gift! That is also where I got my lil Davies stitching template which i love- Not sure if they have any of those left you may have to ring them! If you live close enough to Harrogate to travel to a class then it is well worth the visit - as you can see you learn many transferrable skills in every workshop and Dys teaching style is unique! Check out the workshops if you visit the shop you wont be disappointed!

So what will you do this week? Are you up for a real challenge? Hop on over to Tuesday Taggersand see what my fellow teamies have done. Remember to use up leftovers - which can include your Christmas crafting/ cards/ papers/crackers/gifts. I am really looking forward to visiting blogs for this challenge!

Sunday, 17 January 2010

Its my brothers birthday on Tuesday and I have already warned them I am on a serious economy drive when it comes to birthdays this year! My SIL asked me to make my brother something to hang in the porch with his favourite saying on.

He says its from Kung foo panda - however my own search on the internet revealed a musician called Babatunde Olatunji said it although it also seems to be part of a poem too.

Any way "Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift, which is why its called the present"

I have taken a plaque - sanded it, gessoed it, painted it. the inside panel is alcohol inked. The lettering is lovingly (arrgghhh it drove me nuts!) cut out using the big shot - each individual letter. I was fine representing the future as a question mark and also the present with a gift but had a mental block on the past. Just chatted with my daughter Meghan (who is off crafting but has some seriously cracking ideas!) and she suggested a clock - so it has 2 clock faces in wax seals too.

The "present" I made using my melt pot for the first time - Thanks so much Jacci I LOVE IT! - I loved playing so much Ive made a few funny faces and squiggly things to make some atcs with. I just adore these ticket stamps which i have used to make tickets from grungepaper coloured with distress inks. Phew its been a tough one - think I should have used a lighter colour now its all done but i still quite like it - I just hope he does! Ive also made something else but I cant share that till Tuesday :0)

Im also entering this for the sunday stampers challenge as Ive used stamping on the tickets, present and the wax seals its also for a birthday x x It also fits the bill over at Gingersnap creations as the theme there is embossing and Ive used my embossing powder in the melt pot for the pressie! Thanks for looking x Janet

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

Terrible picture! I do apologize! Its really hard taking a picture of an acetate card!

Mum got a new cartridge for her slice machine yesterday so we thought we would have a play with it. The Josie and the cross are from the slice - the God daughter is from a sissix alphabet. Papers by blonde moments and ribbon and little teddy charm from stash.This is for a collegue at work so hopes she likes it!Ive not ventured out today as its like a skating rink outside our door. It was a meeting day at work so rather than risk breaking a limb I stayed at home. Good job really as I had an awful headache and went to bed for 4 hours to get rid of it. Couldnt believe I had slept so long.

Hope you are managing to stay warm and safe during this cold, icy weather!J x

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Its ages since I did cute so I thought id play with some cutie stamps. The theme tag it with birds means it should have a tag and a bird on it somewhere. This stamp is from Sugar nellie - and is the ultimate image of "a little bird told me":0)

The image is coloured with promarkers - so long since I used them I think Ive forgotten how to colour again lol. Papers are by My minds eye, ribbon and brad from stash, a little orange bulldog clip - a pack from Morrisons! and the stamp of so tweet is from imaginesce the scallop punch is stampin up.Hop on over to Tuesday Taggers and see more Tag it with birds - we have 2 Guest Designers this week and their projects are gorgeous xHappy TuesdayJanet

Saturday, 9 January 2010

So that was the Christmas break - both sons now back at Uni. The house is tooo quiet again. Had a lovely trip out to the local craft shop yesterday - the Stampman and saw the lovely Debbie. Always a warm welcome there which we all love :0)Then today went to embsay for a coffee with Midnight-crafter and saw the fabulous Katy from katysbloggeroo.Today I have been finishing off some Christmas projects for 2010- but rather than bore you all to death about it I now have a Christmas 2010 blog so you only need to look at Christmas if you are really interested LOL. Its on the side bar.

Here is the card I made for my son James' birthday - Papers are by basic grey - ink adirondack archival library green and the guitar stamp from papermania. Rather apt as he plays the guitar both rock and classical and now owns 5 of them!

So off to do some preparation work for my brothers birthday gift - I wont be able to share until the 19th and i very much hope it will be worth sharing too!!!

Thursday, 7 January 2010

The blog hop winners have been announced on Jills blog so pop over there to check them all out but just to let you know the winner from my blog is Charlotte who has won a choice of one of the 3 dvds Kay Carley has recently released - whoho sounds fantastic well done Charlotte. To check if you are a blog hop winner - check out The Stampmans blog here

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Every once in a while - Im sure you agree that -you are so touched by another human being it makes you glad to be here. Well today is one of those days - a day I feel blessed.

I received this in the post today from Tina - A lady in Slovenia who follows my blog. We exchanged some stamped images a few months ago. Isnt this a gorgeous card? Beautiful card stock and the stamping and embossing is fabulous. To receive the card is enough to make me feel blessed but what she wrote inside makes me go all goose bumpy if you get what I mean.

Tina has written - In the coming year I wish for your world to stop spinning when there is no need for it to spin. That and lots of beautiful cards!

Oh Tina that is soooo beautiful - you have truely touched me with your thoughtfulness and kindness. I will treasure your card always as a symbol of how someone can be thinking of you and hoping good things for you - even when they are far away and dont really know you at all. You have lifted my heart with joy x Huge Thanks xx

I hope everyone reading this feels blessed in some way today just like me x

Tuesday, 5 January 2010

I was so pleased to see this combo come up as its one I love. I think it always looks classy! So here Ive done a craft stamper fest - a set of 3 atcs using the freebie stamps off the magazine. The middle one is this months free stamp - wow what a stunner! The right hand stamp I have used 2 stamps on- stamping the oriental flower onto parchment then using a ball tool on the back to give the whiteness and dimension. The left one I have stamped and embossed in white the same stamp as the main image. The middle atc has papermania paper on it and the end one is die cut with a view I think. Ribbon, lace and other bits and bobs from stash!I just love the magazine and devour every detail when it pops through my door and of course Kate Crane is also running an art journalling article over 3 issues which is enticing me to start before I even get on the art journalling weekend at Art from the Heart! My gorgeous pal Georgina has bought me a blank Journal for Christmas which is begging to be started so as I have days off coming up I think I may decorate the front and backs following Kates clear tutorial!

Here is another project that jumped out at me - especially for the school bazaar at Christmas a lovely small gift for children to buy for mums, granny's etc. Of course the one in craft stamper is much more arty and is designed by the talented Joanne Wardle

but I thought staying with the black and white theme - it was simple to do and not too time consuming so my brother is on the look out for electric tealights now so i can get to work! Black paper punched with martha Stewart punch - ribbon from stash sentiment and oval punches from stampin up available here

My fabulous Team Mates have delievered the goods yet again and produced some gorgeous projects - they are really such a talented bunch! Hop on over to Tuesday Taggers and take a peek!

Hope the New year has begun well for you and you are managing to stay warm in this artic weather!

Saturday, 2 January 2010

Well Here I am at my first bloggerversary! It is also my middle sons birthday Happy 20th Birthday James xxAs promised I have gone through my followers and picked someone who I know has commented many times on my blog. So without further ado the The winner is

Friday, 1 January 2010

Happy 2010 to everyone who visits my blog. Hope its filled with Fun, laughter, joy and peace. It is my Bloggerversary tomorrow - the 2nd January so I will pick a candy winner from my fabulous followers x Wish I could send to you all - you leave such lovely comments and really encourage me to do more so Thank you xxJanet